Road-scarifier and trench-cutter.



Patented June 24, I902.

B. ASPLEN.

ROAD SCARIFIER AND TRENGH CUTTER.

(Application filed July 27, 1901..

2 Sheefs-Shee! I.

(No Model.)

INVENTOI? mus l nens 0a.. Puowuma, wlsnluawu. n. c.

No. 703,l68. Patented June 24, I902.

B. ASPLEN.

ROAD SCARIFIER AND TRENCH CUTTER.

(Application filed July 27, 1901.

ATTORNEYS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 l/VVE/VTUR (No Model) WITNESSES UNrrEo STATESBERNARD ASPLEN, OF

PATENT OFFICE.

HARWVICH, ENGLAND.

ROAD-SCA-RIFIER AND TRENCH-CUTTER.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent N 0. 703,168, dated June 24,1902.

Application filed July 27, 1901.

T0 at whom it may concern:

Be it known that LBERNARD AsrLEN, a subject of the King of GreatBritain, residing at Harwich, in the county of Essex, England, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Road-Scarifiers andTrench- Cutters, of which the following is a full and completespecification, such as will enable those skilled in the art to which itappertains to make and use the same. I

The object of my invention is to provide a road-scarifier andtrench-cutter of a new and improved form by which hard, stony, andrefractory soils, such as macadamized roads, may be scarified,broken'up, and loosened or trenched, so that the soil may be treated orremoved, which scarifier and trench-cutter may be carried by a suitablecarriage of its own or attached to suitable fittings on the road-rolleror traction-engine of any form.

To such ends my invention consists in substance of an outer casing ofcast-iron or steel, an inner casing projecting out of the upper casingat the bottom and reciprocating up and down in such outer casing,provided with forward and rear flaring portions at the lower endthereof, a screw-shaft upon whichthe innor casing is reciprocatinglymounted, carried by a screw-bushing in the top of the outer casing, abuffer-plate reciprocatingly mounted upon the screw-shaft above the topof the inner casing, buffer-springs interposed between the top of theinner casing and buffer-plate, regulating-screws passing through the topof the outer casing adapted to regulate the position of thebuffer-plate, lock-nuts mounted upon such screws, a plurality of teethor tines adjustably' secured against the inner side of each of thebottom flaring portions of the inner casing and passing through asuitable slot or slots, orifice or orifices, formed to receive the same,in and through an inwardly-extending bottom flange portion of theflaring end walls of such inner casing, supporting side flanges on theouter casing, and a wheeled carriage rigidly secured to such flange, soas to support the device, although it is not to be understood that theinvention is limited to adevice necessarily comprising at once all ofthe devices or means before mentioned, as the invention consists ofvarious combinations or arrangements of devices and parts and theconstruction of certain desantl to. 69,877. (No model.)

vices and parts, all substantially as hereinafter more particularly setforth in the specification and pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, inwhich like characters of reference designate corresponding parts in theseveral views, Figure 1 is an end side view in perspective of myimproved form of road-scarifier and trench-cutter as the same appearswhen mounted upon the carriage designed expressly to support it. Fig. 2is a view of my improved scarifier in central vertical cross-sectionlooking from the front or rear. Fig. 3 is a like viewin central verticallongitudinalsection looking from the side, and Fig. 4 is a top viewthereof in crosssection on the line a a, of Fig. 3.

To carry out my invention,I provide a heavy rectangular casing ofcast-iron or steel A, the front and rear walls 10 of which extend downmore than half-way the length thereof and the side walls 11 of which areprovided just below the bottoms of the front walls 10 withsupportingflanges 12, by which the same may be secured upon the frame ofa rectangular'carriage B by suitable bolts, as shown in Fig. 1, orsecured in like manner to a frame formed integral with the frame of aroadroller or traction-engine. Fitting snugly in the interior of therectangular casing Ais an inner casing 0, formed of the same material,which fits snugly therein, with just sufficient contact to permit of thesame being freely reciprocated therein by means of a screw 14, providedwith a hand-wheel 15, which screw fits in a female-threaded bushing 16,of phosphor-bronze or similar material, located in a hole formed toreceive it in the top part of casting 17 0f the outer casing A, be ingpassed into the same through a side slot and afterward secured thereinby a key-plug 18. The screw 14 is provided at the bottom of thescrew-thread with a flange 19, below which" extends an unthreadedportion 14:, upon which reciprocates the buffer-plate 20. Interposedbetween the buffer-plate and the top plate 21 of the innercasing O are aplurality of strong buffer-springs 22, held in position in any desiredmanner, usually by short pins or studs 23, extending up into the centersthereof a short distance,as shown in Figs. 2 and 3. Theunthreadedportion 14' of the screw 14: passes through the top 21 of theinner casing G and is provided with a securingnut 24. and a lock-nut 25,screwed upon a thread formed for that purpose upon the outer endthereof, and between the securing-nut 24: and the top plate 21 of theinner casing is interposed a washer 26, so as to permit of freerevolution of such screw in such top plate. The inner casing O isprovided at the front and rear with outwardly-flaring lower end portions27, provided with the inwardly and downwardly extending flange portions28, which so extend at substantially a right angle to such flare, thelower corners of which flanges are cut off, as shown at 29, and thesebackwardly-extending flange portions 28 are provided adjacent to thewalls of thesecuring portions 27 with a plurality of rectangularorifices 30, adapted to receive therein the scarifying teeth or tines31, which are usually formed of tempered steel and are firmly secured insuch slots or orifices 30 by means of set-screws 32, so as to projectany desired distance beyond the bottom of the flanges 28, as shown at 31in Fig. 3, when in such position the upper edges of each of such teethor tines resting snugly against the inner side of the flaring lower endportion of the inner casing 0, whereby the same are rigidly held inposition. Passing through the top plate 17 of the outer casing A andabutting against the buffer-plate 20 are regulating-screws 33, providedwith lock-nuts 34, by which the tension of the buffer-springs 22 may beregulated to suit different soils and different depths of trench.

To facilitate the hoisting in and out of the carriage B of thescarifier, the same is usually provided with stout rings or shackles 35.

To operate the device, the inner casing C' is lowered, so that the lowerends 31 of the teeth or tines will enter the earth to the requireddepth, the teeth or tines 31 having been first secured at the requiredheight in the slots 30 by means ofthe screws 32, and the tensionregulating screws 33 are then screwed down, so as to give the screws therequired tension, and the lock-nuts 3a are screwed down thereon, so asto lock the same against any upward movement. If new the carriage B beby any suitable power, such as a roadroller or traction-engine, drawnover the road or field to be scarified or trenched, it is evident thatno matter how hard or refractory the soil may be the points 31 of thetines 31 upon the forward side will rip into and tear up such soil andthat the same will be further scarified by the less forceful action ofthe backwardly-turned teeth or tines 31, carried by the rearbackwardlyextending flaring flange of the casing O.

The angle at which the flaring end portions of the inner casing, andconsequently the scarifying teeth or tines, are set is usually, asshown, that of about sixty degrees, as I have found this the mostefficient angle, and formed in one side of the inner casing is anorifice 36, by which the interior can be reached when the sameis loweredor resting upon the ground,

such opening being upon the front or rear, so as to drop below the lowerend of the short end wall. By this construction it will be seen that thedevice may be used with any form of carriage desired, and may be fixeddirectly to a road-roller as before stated, and that in any event it canbe used with equal facility in either direction.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is-- l. In a carriage of the classdescribed, the combination with an outer casing of an inner casingmovable up and down in the outer casing; means for securing the saidinner casing in position, said inner casing being provided at the bottomand on the opposite sides with on twardly-flarin g walls provided attheir lower ends with inwardly-extending flanges and adjacent to theinner side of said flaring walls with slots or orifices and scarifyingteeth or tines adapted to enter said slots or orifices and to projectoutwardly beyond the flanges and end walls, substantially as shown anddescribed.

2. In a device of the class described, the combination with an outercasing, of an inner casing supported within the outercasing,buffer-springs interposed between the top of the inner casing andthat of the outer casing, and a plurality of scarifying teeth or tinessecured to the lower end of the inner casing projecting therefromoutward at an angle less than that of a right angle, substantially asshown and described. i

3. In a device of the class described, the combination with an outercasing provided with side supporting-flanges, of an inner casingreciprocating up and down in the outer casing provided on two sides ofthe bottom with outwardly flaring end walls provided withbackwardly-extending flanges provided adjacent to the inner side wallsof the flare with slots or orifices, scarifying teeth or tines locatedin said slots and projecting outward beyond the flange, asupporting-screw having an upper thread coacting with a screw-threadcarried by the top of the outer casing, the lower end of which screw-rodis unthreaded and is revolubly connected-to the top of the inner casing,a buffer-plate reciprocatingly mounted upon such lower portion of thescrew, a plurality of buffer-springs interposed between the buffer-plateand the top of the inner casing, and a plurality of regulatingscrewspassing through the top of the outer casing, substantially as shown anddescribed.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as myinvention Ihave signed myname, in presence of the subscribing witnesses, this 15th day of July,1901.

BERNARD ASPLEN.

Witnesses:

BENJAMIN GEORGE HANSON, FRANCIS W. FRIeoUT.

